In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple’s macOS 26.4 beta introduces a manual battery charge limit feature for MacBooks, allowing users to set limits between 80% and 100% in 5% increments.
- This feature builds on existing Optimized Battery Charging technology and helps extend battery lifespan by reducing wear from constant full charges.
- The update addresses user requests and may impact third-party battery management apps like AlDente that previously offered similar functionality.
Apple released the macOS 26.4 beta to developers on Monday, and those who have installed it have found a new feature that’s been a long time a-comin’. Apple is adding the ability to set a charge limit for the battery in a MacBook. With the new slider, you can set the limit to 80 percent, to 100 percent, or to an increment (in fives) in between.
Apple added an Optimize Battery Charging feature in macOS Catalina that uses machine learning to limit charging, but since then, users have been asking for the ability to manually set the charge limit below 100 percent. Apple added that ability for iPhones in iOS 18, and now finally coming to the Mac.
Why is this an important feature? Every time you charge and deplete the battery, it puts wear and tear on it, and over time, the battery carries less of a charge than it used to. Charging to 100 percent and depleting completely accelerates this process. Studies have shown that keeping the battery under 100 percent lowers the amount of wear and tear, thus making the battery healthier over a longer period of time. And the lower the upper limit you can manage, the better it is for battery health. Learn more about keeping a MacBook battery healthy.
There is one drawback to Apple adding this feature: The main feature of AlDente, a popular MacBook utility, is Sherlocked. However, AlDente does have a lot of features that are quite useful, such as the ability to recalibrate the battery, heat protection, the ability to control the color of the MagSafe LED,and a lot more–features Apple isn’t likely to incorprate.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.